| Basis for focus area |
Several small zinc-lead mines, including the Shawangunk mine, are on the Shawangunk Mountains, Sullivan County, New York. |
| Identified resources |
Historical mining of lead and zinc. |
| Production |
Mining began at the Shawangunk mine in 1837, producing around 30 tons of lead ore, The mine was inactive for 60 years, reopening in 1917 for three years. Operations ceased after removal of 4,700 cubic feet of material (Eilertsen, 1950). |
| Status |
Past mining. |
| Estimated resources |
Unknown. |
| Geologic maps |
Rickard and others (1970), scale 1:250,000 [Lower Hudson sheet]. |
| Geophysical data |
Inadequate aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric data. |
| Favorable rocks and structures |
Veins cutting the Shawangunk Conglomerate. |
| Deposits |
Shawangunk mine (MRDS dep_id: 10150776). |
| Evidence from mineral occurrences |
MRDS. |
| Geochemical evidence |
The mineralogy of the ore is simple. Sphalerite is the chief ore mineral, and galena is next in abundance. Chalcopyrite and pyrite are present in small amounts. Minor covellite, malachite, and limonite constitute the minerals of secondary origin. |
| Geophysical evidence |
Unknown. |
| Evidence from other sources |
Unknown. |
| Comments |
Mineralization at the Shawangunk mine is along a quartz vein along the west flank of Shawangunk Mountain, dipping at a 65 degree angle and at minimum 300 feet below the surface. Currently only accessible by the old mine shaft or as seen in drill cores. Zinc concentrations in ore from the Shawangunk mine ranged from 0.2 to 32.4% in the samples collected by Sims and Hotz (1951) and Eilertsen (1950). Drilling by the U.S. Bureau of Mines has partly delineated a new ore shoot 500 feet below the former workings of the Shawangunk mine, and only 100 feet from the face of the exploratory adit near the base of Shawangunk Mountains (Sims and Hotz, 1951). |
| Cover thickness and description |
Limited to no cover; mineralization extends to some depth. |
| Authors |
Andrew L. Kozlowski, Karl J. Backhaus. |
| New data needs |
Geophysics, geologic mapping. |
| Geologic mapping and modeling needs |
1:24,000 scale mapping. |
| Geophysical survey and modeling needs |
High resolution aeromagnetic and aeroradiometric coverage may delineate deposits. |
| Digital elevation data needs |
Lidar adequate. |
